With how the weather has been going recently, who knows if things have gotten better in the state of Colorado by the time this is published. With the latest recorded snowfall in the state happening during June in past years, more likely May in recent years, our state is a funky one when it comes down to the capabilities for things to get crazy.

Where weather might not make much sense, at the same time, we do know it is officially summer with June being the first month. The days are long, the nights are short, and it will get pretty hot. The month of June also means another scary thing: the year is almost already half over and although summer is just starting, at this pace it would be insane not to think that the next time we are writing, it might already be winter.

Things move quickly, and one of those things is this year’s upcoming presidential election. Almost a year ago, our magazine wrote about some of the high-profile candidates up for the Republican and Democratic nomination and what these might respectively mean for the world of cannabis. Originally, we didn’t even have Trump on this list, and the swath of Republican interested candidates was much larger. Almost a year later and it is undeniable that Trump will be getting the Republican nomination. As things currently stand, Bernie supporters are still yelling about the impending Bern we should all be experiencing, but for now, it seems like the only burn we will be feeling in November is the one that comes when we are lighting our respective bowls.

With the two candidates nearing the convention season and their competitors slowly bowing out, or having already bowed out of the race, it is now time for things to get serious when it comes to politics and pot.

Depending on whom you talk to, some might say the presidential race will not have an insane impact on state legalization. After all, at this point the federal government has reaped benefits in the form of tax money made from cannabis and thus, their hands are dirty, albeit without a full paper trail, but they have begun accepting some responsibility for cannabis. States are also continuing to vote and might somewhat ignore what they are told because of how entrenched it has become. On the flip side, cannabis is still illegal and will continue to be so across most states come the end of 2016. There are truly no guarantees legal pot will keep being a thing, although we can guess it will.

Just because politics can put a damper on things, it doesn’t mean our industry has not created some very inventive ways of progressing. One of those ways is a competition called The Grow Off that is looking to reshape how we grade pot from a growing perspective.

Right now most grow competitions take different strains that are created independently in a variety of different circumstances. While these types of events can tell you who has good weed, they do not necessarily tell you about who is the best grower around because of all the outside factors. The Grow Off is hoping to circumvent this by evening the playing field. We won’t spoil it here, but check out our article on them to learn more about how they are making the growing side of the competition much more of a competition instead of a one-sided contest. For any stoners who care about how pot is grown, we can promise this is a story you will love.

As things begin to warm up, enjoy the outdoors and remember to be respectful of your neighbors with that smoke. Whether at a concert at Red Rocks, Jazz in the Park or one of the many festivals coming up, remember to be respectful stoners instead of blowing clouds of smoke in the face of children.

Enjoy the beginning of summer while it lasts because after all, you might blink and it could be gone before any of us know it.